Flower Petal: The Last of the Eggs
by Zar Fiyero
Summary: This is the story of how the last egg hatches for Arya. Arya Eragon, Saphira and the new dragon travel to New York City on an quest to find out more about Christopher Paolini. Please R & R. CHAPTER SIX NOW IN!
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE 

Arya ran through Du Weldenvarden, the young dragon hatchling concealed under her cape. She knew the Galbatorix's soldiers were no longer pursuing her, they were still at the capital, but her fear drove her deeper and deeper into the forest. Despite her superior strength, Arya's breath came in gasps now and she could feel a stitch forming in her side. The wounds from the fight in Uru'baen were still fresh for there hadn't been time to heal them on the flight back. Finally Arya stopped in a clearing to rest. She passed a hand over the many cuts and scrapes on her face and arms, muttering "_Waise heill"_ After the last break in the skin had been tended to and she had caught her breath, Arya brought the dragon out into the light of the moon. Not only had the last dragon egg been removed from the clutches of the evil Galbatorix, it had hatched for her, Arya, princess of Ellesmera. Arya looked on as the baby dragon furled and unfurled its tiny emerald wings. It yawned, tasting the fresh forest air that only the elves had the privilege to breathe. Suddenly, it looked up at her quizzically and said _I know I am a little young to be talking already. Don't be surprised, the years of experiencing Galbatorix's dark magic made it so. We have little time, so I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me a name, so we could start off our dragon and Rider relationship. _Her dragon was male, the voice was unmistakably so, but what to name a male dragon? Arya had read a lot about the old dragons and their Riders, but could not recall any names. Across the clearing, a flower caught her eye, just beginning to open in the fresh dawn light pouring over the eastern horizon. It was a beautiful thing, emerald green in color, like her dragon's scales. Then a name came to her, so suddenly she didn't realize it until seconds later. Arya reached up and plucked the flower off its vine. She placed it on the hatchling's head, saying _I shall call you Ezganr. _

CHAPTER ONE

Eragon sat in the shade of a tree, Saphira dozing beside him in the bright afternoon sunlight. In the sky above, a green dragon circled, his young, powerful wings carrying him and his rider higher and higher. Saphira opened one blue eye and watched the dragon soaring up above. She spoke to the boy beside her, _Eragon; it is a wonderful day for flying. Why don't we join Arya and Ezganr? _Eragon shrugged. _Why not? Arya picked such a fitting name for him, Emerald, in the Ancient Language. _Saphira crouched and allowed Eragon to position himself in the saddle correctly. _Yes I agree, she has always been good with the Language, although I suppose she is an elf. _The two lifted off and spiraled upward until they were level with Arya and Ezganr. Arya looked worried and Eragon sensed that her mind was not completely occupied by Ezganr's flight.

"Arya" he asked. "What is so distressing that you must puzzle over it, even while flying?" The elf smiled at him, looked down at the scales on Ezganr's neck and looked back up. "How very perceptive of you to notice, Eragon. While I was walking in the forest yesterday, a piece of paper blew through the trees and landed at my feet. I picked it up and read it. The language was a dialect of your native tongue, very different but still legible. Oh Eragon, the writing was about you, though it was most certainly not written in Alagaesia or Surda! It talked of a young author named Christopher Paolini, who wrote a book, called Eragon and its sequel, Eldest. He is also working on another book to complete the trilogy. What worries me is that they believe that this Christopher Paolini made up your story!" She looked again at Ezganr 's neck, thinking. Eragon spoke.

"What and odd name he has, Christopher Paolini. You are right, he is most certainly not from Alagaesia. No one in Alagaesia have such a foreign name. Did it say where he was from?" Arya looked up, surprised.

"Why didn't I think of that before? It said that he lives in a place called Montana, and that Montana's landscape inspired him in 'creating' Alagaesia's. Eragon, we must travel to this land. We must ask him about us!"

Eragon protested. "But Arya, how will we know where to go? How to get there?"

She smiled at him and Eragon could tell that she had already thought of a plan.

"The dragons"

Eragon stared at her, confused. "What? You don't mean…"

Arya smiled knowingly "Yes, I propose we fly as high as we can without freezing and look around, fly in one direction or another and see what is out there." Eragon stared at her again, but this time in disbelief. "Arya, I know you. You wouldn't do something like that! I think the trauma of breaking into Uru'baen, stealing the egg and becoming a Rider all in one night has permanently affected you." Eragon broke off as a voice slightly deeper than his own entered his mind, speaking. _Eragon, I think it is worth a try. We have to satisfy our curiosity, me as well as Arya. If we don't, we may worry ourselves to insanity. _Arya who had heard this nodded in agreement and her voice turned solemn.

"Ezganr speaks the truth. This is very serious. Come on, Eragon, all you have to do is fly up!" The boy consulted Saphira. _Why don't we just go? _was her response._ Let's humor them. What damage can it do?_ Eragon reluctantly nodded as she prepared to rise. Arya smiled and Eragon felt a wave of happiness merged with satisfaction emanating from Ezganr. The two dragons flew higher and soon they were above where the clouds would have been had any cared to show themselves that day. They flew for a time, nothing happened. Eragon's doubt turned to frustration as the mission became more and more futile. He looked at Arya and opened his mouth to address her.

But the words never left his lips.

A wall of solid impenetrable air rammed into them, sending the dragons spiraling backward. Eragon was forcefully ripped from the saddle and he could see his fellow rider was falling too. The previously cloudless sky was now a thick, churning mass of black thunderheads and lightning. The loud claps of thunder sounded as though they were right next to Eragon's ear. He heard Arya screaming as she fell, Saphira roared behind him and Ezganr bellowed. Just as suddenly as the wall of air had come, a flash, brighter than any of the others exploded below the group. It was so bright that Eragon closed his eyes, but stars still fired behind his eyelids. Then all of them blacked out and they felt no more.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

All Eragon knew was his throbbing head. Slowly, he forced himself to open his eyes. After blinking back the blurry fog in front of them, Eragon was able to see Saphira's shining blue bulk lying next to him. He tapped her lightly, but saw her sapphire eyes were already peering at him. Clutching his head in an attempt to alleviate the horrible pounding, Eragon sat up and looked around. He was clearly no longer in Du Weldenvarden. The light sky had darkened and the surface they were perched on was unnaturally hard. Eragon looked down and saw that the ground was not grass or soil or even dirt, but a hard metal. It produced a solid ringing sound when tapped.

"W-where are we?" came Arya's frightened cry a few feet from Eragon's hand. He turned to see that the elf had pushed herself up on to her elbows and was taking in the surroundings. Ezganr had propped his head up on his front feet; his eyes fixed on Arya. _Oh my…_Eragon heard Saphira gasp and went over to her to see what had warranted her outburst. She was peering over the edge of the area they were sitting on. Eragon peered with her and gasped as well. Below them, several feet down, a thousand… no, a million lights flashed. Large metal capsules, rolling along on wheels, were zooming by, as fast as Saphira or Ezganr flying at full speed. Signs blinked messages, but none of them made any sense to Eragon.

_Buy an ice cold Pepsi today._

_America gets their news on channel seven._

_McDonald's, I'm lovin' it!_

_Welcome to New York City!_

"McDonald's?" Eragon muttered. Arya had come over to them, Ezganr following. She apparently had been shocked into silence, for she had not said anything. _Look. _Came Ezganr's awed voice echoing in Eragon's mind. The dragon nodded in one direction, causing the rest of the group to look too. Off in the distance, they could see a body of water. Standing on a pedestal on a small island in that body of water was a statue. A _huge_ statue. It was a likeness of a woman, dressed in robes, holding a burning torch in one hand, a tablet in the other. Her entire surface was a turquoise green. On the head of the statue was a crown with seven spikes. They stared at it in reverence for a few moments, then Arya spoke in a voice none of them recognized.

"Oh my gawsh, that outfit is, like, sooo cute!!" Eragon and Ezganr stared at her, but Saphira was following her gaze. On the road below, a very tall woman was getting out of a large car. As soon as her feet, encased in six inch heels, touched the pavement, a flurry of bright flashes and excited screams started. She walked through the crowds of paparazzi and entered a building. Saphira spoke, her voice also changed. _Oh my gawsh, I know! I wonder if they make it in my size… _Above the door, a flashing neon sign proclaimed

**AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL **

**PRELIMINARY AUDITIONS TODAY!!! **

Arya's face filled with longing as she said, "Oh my gawsh, I absolutely _have _to audition!" Eragon finally cracked.

"ARYA!??" he bellowed. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!? YOU ARE A DRAGON RIDER!!!! WE AREN"T HERE TO BECOME MODELS!!! WE'RE HERE TO FIND CHRISTOPHER-uh, what exactly is a model, anyway?" Arya seemed hurt at his outburst but answered him anyway, still in her girlish voice.

"A model, is like, so totally, like the hottest job ever. You get to like wear the like cutest outfits. I would make the like hottest model like ever and I am _so_ gonna audition for this, and don't you like try to stop me!" Saphira nodded. _Oh my gawsh, Arya, you are so gonna be America's next top model. Come on girlfriend, climb down there and walk in that door! _Without even looking at Eragon or Ezganr, Arya climbed down the ladder on the side of the building on which they were stuck. She walked across the street and entered the door under the bright sign.

"I have to go after her" Eragon whispered as Ezganr turned to him. The emerald dragon hadn't said a word during the entire exchange between the two Riders, but now he spoke to Eragon, concerned. _Do you think, that somehow in being transported to the world of Christopher Paolini, the females of our group took on qualities of the females in his world?_ Eragon considered this. _Maybe _was his reply. _But I'm still going after her. Stay up here with Saphira and make sure that she doesn't…do anything foolish. _With that he scampered down the ladder, across the street and through the door below the sign.

Inside, a short hall opened up into a large arena packed with tall, giggling girls. _Oh no _thought Eragon. _How am I going to find her in this mess?_ Suddenly he spotted her, standing at a table, registering. He ran toward her, but bumped into someone who was joining the registration line.

"Hey, you don't bump into the one who's gonna be America's next top model!" Eragon froze. He knew that voice. He _knew_ that voice! Eragon turned around and confirmed his suspicions. Standing before him, dressed in pink was…

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Do you think it's moving too slowly, because I can speed it up if you want. PLEASE REVEIW!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Eragon characters. Christopher Paolini does.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

_"Durza"_ Eragon hissed. "I thought I killed you. In the Battle Under Farthen Dur?" Durza smiled, the brown decaying teeth he had in Alagaesia now brilliantly white.

"Didn't you know, Rider, that when a shade dies he becomes" Durza broke off, struck a dramatic pose and continued. "a supermodel? I am so gonna win this petty contest!" Eragon was too shocked to do anything but stare at the former shade, now decorated lavishly in tight pink pants, a shirt just as form fitting displaying the same hue and a long feathery rope, a boa, draped carefully around his neck. Suddenly, two hands grabbed on to Eragon's shoulders, spinning him around to face their owner. It was Arya; she was dressed in an outfit similar to Durza's, though without the boa and was beaming a look of pure ecstatic joy.

"I got in!" she cheered. "I'm going to be America's next top model, and I can keep the clothes too!" Durza stepped forward, his face drawn into a look of girlish annoyance.

"Oh my gawsh, you are so wrong!" he snapped. "_I _am going to be America's next top model!" Arya stared at Durza, though the elf didn't seem at all surprised to see him.

"Oh my gawsh, Durza. What did you do to your hair? Did you get a manicure? You look really hot in all those new styles!" Durza nodded. "Yeah, I know, right? I love your bag" he pointed to a large purse hanging off Arya's left shoulder. "Is it Gucci? It really compliments your outfit…"

Eragon was getting fed up with this conversation. What was wrong with Arya? Why was Durza a supermodel? Were they any closer to solving the mystery about Christopher Paolini?

"Come on, Arya." He muttered, clutching the elf's arm in an attempt to drag her away from the crowd of overdressed females. As Arya was led away by the irritated Rider, she turned back to Durza, calling:

"We're stuck on top of the building across the street. If you have time, you can come over, whenever is fine" but Eragon had her out the door and across the street before she could add to her speech. Once they were up the ladder, Eragon swung around to face her and tell her just how stupid this whole endeavor was, but Saphira's current activity distracted him. She had wires coming out of her ears. Her eyes were closed and her large shiny head was bobbing back and forth to the beat of loud music that was evidently coming from the wires. Eragon realized that Saphira was singing along to the song, which was not like any music he had ever heard before

_We're all in this together_

_And we know that we are; we're all stars _

_And we see that. _

_We're all in this together _

_And we stand, hand in hand, _

_Make our dreams come true _

Arya ran over to Saphira and picked up a little box that was connected to the wires. _Oh my gawsh!_ She mentally proclaimed. _Saphira,_ _this is a pink iPod Nano! Where did you find it? I would positively die for one of these! Why are you listening to High School Musical songs? _Saphira glared at her. _Are you kidding?_ She replied. _High School Musical is the best ever._

Eragon saw that a small bird wearing a beret was perched on the dragon's head. _Saphira _he asked. _Why is there a pigeon on your head?_ His dragon mentally smiled. _This is King Jacques Pierre the 52.5th of France. He's sooooo nice! _Eragon looked at her, about to tell her that there was something wrong with her brain, but King Jacques Pierre spoke first.

"Bonjour, mon ami! Je m'appelle Jacques Pierre. Je suis de Paris. Tu t'appelle comment?" Eragon had absolutely no idea what the king was saying. Saphira sensed this and said _Jacques Pierre can't speak English, so he is using French. I will translate. He said 'Hello, my friend. My name is Jacques Pierre. I am from Paris. What is your name?' _Eragon was still blown away by this whole thing, but managed to answer in a normal tone. "Uh, I'm Eragon." Jacques Pierre smiled, if that was how pigeons smiled, and replied. Saphira translated his answer to 'Eragon is a nice name. I can understand that much English. Saphira is a very lovely dragon, very lovely indeed.'

Arya, who had been stroking Ezganr's neck, suddenly cried "That's it!" Eragon spun around asking "What's it?" Arya grinned toothily and said. "Ezganr's new name. Now that I'm going to be the best supermodel in the world, my dragon's name has to be something elegant and refined." She placed her hand on Ezganr's head, in the same spot that she had put the green flower only a few short months ago. "I shall call you Flower Petal"

Ezganr, now Flower Petal, snorted furiously. _FLOWER PETAL?? _he roared across their mental link. _FLOWER PETAL?? I **refuse **to be called a name like that!! No! No, no, NO!! I am Ezganr! I am, I am I am!!_ Flower Petal glared at her, then at the rest of the group. _Someone _he pleaded._ Someone, please tell her she can't do this to me! Eragon?... Saphira?... King Jacques Pierre?... Please? _When no one answered, he silently turned his back on all of them and walked away into the shadows. Arya tried to call after him, but Flower Petal had thrown up barriers to his mind. Eragon looked at her and said. "Arya, what have you done?"

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Is it good so far? PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! Disclaimer: I don't own any Eragon characters. King Jacques Pierre is mine, though.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR 

The days passed quickly after that. Flower Petal became accustomed to his new name, but still hated Arya for changing it. The days on top of the building were long and boring, but the group that wasn't able to pass inconspicuously through New York City found ways to pass the time. Jacques Pierre hung around to keep them company and the dragons liked him very much, especially Saphira. Once, Flower Petal woke to find that they were still wide awake, talking in hushed whispers so as not to wake him.

Arya's modeling career took off. After weeks of monotonous waiting and little modeling, a pair of finalists had to be chosen. From the hundreds possible, two were deemed to be the best supermodels. They, of course, were Arya and Durza. The last competition in which the best of the best would be chosen and crowned America's Next Top Model was scheduled for the following day and Arya could not keep still.

"Urg, I can't stand this!" she cried, while she and Eragon were busy picking out which make up to wear for the big show. "The suspense is killing me! I wish they would let us do it now and have it over with!" Eragon did his best to console her, saying that she was bound to win, that Durza stood no chance of going against an elf, but it did no good. She was a nervous wreck and remained that way throughout the night and into the next morning.

The day of the final elimination was a flurry of activity. Arya spent most of it in her private dressing room to avoid the paparazzi. Designers ran between Durza's room and Arya's matching skin tones to fabrics and fabrics to skin tones. Make up artists put the finishing touches on their works of art in the final seconds before the two contestants were to be whisked away to change into the first of the hot new styles they would be showing off. Finally, Arya could hear the low drone of the crowd finding their seats along the runway and an announcer spelling out the fine details for them.

"We have two terrific models today, Arya and Durza. Neither have any previous modeling experience, put both are terrific at what they do. Now if you would please take your seats so we can get started right away, that would be terrific." _I wish I felt that terrific,_ thought Arya as she felt her heart rate increase. _Can a person die from nerves? _Eragon, who was holding her hand, squeezed it and said "Don't worry Arya, you'll do fine. I can't say that I'll be sorry when this is over. We will finally be able to concentrate on finding Christopher Paolini." Arya gulped and nodded, afraid she would be sick if she opened her mouth. Durza walked over to them, beaming. He didn't look anxious at all, on the contrary he was quite the opposite.

"Are you ready, Arya?" The shade seamed as confident as she was nervous. "I can't believe we get to wear stuff so awesome! Anyway, prepare to like, totally LOSE!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Durza walked away as a make up artist beckoned to him. Arya bit her lip.

"You make as much sense as a crash test dummy smothered in cocktail sauce!!!" she screamed after him. A woman wearing a headset and holding a clipboard came up to Arya.

"Okay, on the count of three walk out there and strike a pose, alright? That would be terrific! Now…one… two… three!" On three the weirdo woman shoved Arya out onto the runway and she was immediately blinded by a thousand flashing cameras. She was used to this however, and confidently strutted down the runway. Behind the scenes, Eragon, who had been peeking through a curtain passed out and had to be whipped with rubber chickens until he woke up again.

Durza had also been thrust out at the same time as Arya and was walking along side her, with an insane grin on his face. Suddenly the music changed drastically to a highly upbeat song and someone from the audience yelled "DANCE CONTEST!!!!!!!!!"

"Whew!" said Arya as she sat, now clothed once again in elven clothing, between Eragon and Flower Petal. "That was some contest. One second it's America's Next Top Model and then the next thing you know it's Dancing with the Stars. How'd I do?"

"Wonderful!" Eragon answered. "I think that foxtrot you and Durza did down the runway to 'Suddenly I See' really completed the scene." Arya smiled a dreamy smile at this. Saphira whispered something in French to Jacques Pierre, who replied in French also. Eragon and Arya yawned simultaneously and after realizing this laughed so hard that a woman down on the street heard them and thought she was losing it once and for all.

"You had a long day, why don't we turn in?" said Eragon to Arya. This statement was wasted however, because by the obnoxiously loud snoring going on Eragon could tell that Arya was already asleep. He curled up next to Saphira, who draped her wing over him, and went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Eragon was the first to wake up the next morning. He sat up and carefully unwrapped a cold McDonald's snack wrap that had been hanging around for a while. As the gelatinous honey mustard sauce dripped down his hand, Arya woke and saw him eating.

"Hey! I wanted that!" she yelled. "Give it here!" She jumped at him and tried to wrestle the half-eaten snack wrap out of his hands. King Jacques Pierre was awakened by the commotion and saw, in his native language, _une vue trés amusante. _Eragon was just barely holding the now almost unrecognizable snack wrap out of Arya's reach. She had both his legs pinned down and was desperately reaching for the gross looking honey mustard covered package in Eragon's left hand. She let go of his legs and dove at the snack wrap. She managed to grab the arm holding it, but not before he threw it high into the air.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!!" shrieked Arya as they both ran as fast as they could, trying to catch the airborne object. Unfortunately for both of them, the force with which Eragon had thrown the package carried it over the side of the building. Eragon and Arya watched anxiously as the greasy paper and its contents cascaded down, finally to land with a sickening squishy sound on the windshield of a Mercedes.

"Now look what you did!!" they both yelled at each other. Their argument was just about to come to blows when they heard a thump behind them. They turned. There stood Durza, wearing once again his pink outfit with the boa. He was holding about fifty McDonald's bags and an insane grin came over his face and he said:

"Snack wraps, anyone?"

All of them sat down to eat. Even King Jacques Pierre allowed himself to be convinced to eat the unhealthy fried American fare. As they ate, Eragon finally voiced the feeling that had been annoying him since they left Alagaësia.

"Okay, so now we know that this world exists and I think we should do what we cam here to do in the first place."

"Become a supermodel?" asked Durza from his seat beside Arya. "I already did that!"

"No. We have to find Christopher Paolini. That's the reason we're here. Right Arya?" Arya nodded reluctantly. Eragon went on.

"Now let's find that author. First things first, does anyone know where Montana is?" They all shook their heads. No one had any idea whatsoever where this magical land known as Montana was. However, they did know that this Christopher Paolini person supposedly got the idea for Alagaësia's landscape from Montana's.

_So why don't we just fly around and look for a place that looks like Alagaësia. That's a good plan, isn't it?_ said Flower Petal. _You riders can cast spells that make us invisible, right?_

So it was settled, they would leave in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

And so, the intrepid crew of riders and dragons (plus a supermodel/shade and a French pigeon king) set out to the next morning, hoping to make it to Montana. Durza and Arya rode Flower Petal and Eragon rode Saphira, but since pigeons can't fly nearly as fast as dragons King Jacques Pierre had to ride on Saphira, right next to Eragon, who felt slightly disturbed at this. Before they left The two riders performed a spell that would make them invisible to passersby below. All was well, aside from Durza's demands of "Are we there yet?" every five point four three seven seconds and his accusations of Eragon cheating at "I spy with my little eye".

"That's the last straw, dragon rider!" he yelled after Eragon easily identified what it was that Durza had been thinking of for the fourth time. "You cast a spell that made me tell you what I was looking at and then you made me forget about it so no one would know. Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater!!!" Eragon just rolled his eyes and decided for his turn to choose something with delusional conspiracy theories. _Hey, look at that! _Said Saphira's voice suddenly in everyone's mind. _Doesn't that look like Alagaësia?_ She was nodding in the direction of a gigantic green area covered in places with trees. It looked completely natural, aside from the fact that it was completely surrounded by those curious metal buildings and it was perfectly rectangular. They all agreed that it did bare some resemblance to Du Weldenvarden, so the dragons landed in one of the treeless areas. The spell of invisibility still was in effect so they were safe from the many eyes that were passing by them unawares.

"I'm home!!" shrieked Arya as she leaped down from Flower Petal's back. "Or well," she continued. "I'm in a place that looks like home. This place must be Montana!"

"I agree," said Eragon, nodding at the manicured lawn, perfectly trimmed trees and paths winding through the green area. Many people were walking down the paths. "It certainly looks like Du Weldenvarden. Yes, I'm sure this must be Montana." Everyone else agreed and soon they set out in search of Christopher Paolini.

It turned out Montana was very large, so they split up. Saphira and Flower Petal stuck their heads in every tree, just in case and Durza went off on his own. Arya searched the pathways with Eragon. They dropped the spell around themselves so they could ask around. Many people had heard of him. "Oh, he's that author guy." or "I loved that book!" or "That was a horrible movie!", but no one had seen him there.

"Maybe he's on vacation," volunteered Arya to a frustrated Eragon as they headed back to the predetermined place to meet the others. "Or maybe he's doing a book signing or something. You can't expect him to spend all his time in Montana. Eragon said he supposed she was right and sat down on the lawn beside Saphira and Flower Petal to wait for Durza to arrive. He didn't have to wait long. Soon after he and Arya had returned Eragon heard a curious sound behind him. _Slap, squish, squeak; slap, squish, squeak. _Eragon turned. There stood Durza wearing a brilliantly pink wetsuit and a brilliantly pink diver's mask. He had brilliantly pink flippers on his feet and a brilliantly pink snorkel hung from his mouth. He was dripping wet.

"What happened to you?" asked Arya as she carefully lifted the diver's mask over Durza's head. Durza grinned broadly.

"I checked the ponds," he said. "Maybe this Christopher Paolini you're so intent on finding is actually a fish or maybe he's a mermaid or something." Eragon told Durza that there's no such thing as mermaids, you dimwit, and even if there were that mermaids were all female and that if Christopher Paolini was a mermaid he wouldn't be a mermaid at all, he would be a _merman_. Durza looked at him annoyedly and proceeded to change back into his dry clothes (the invisibility spell created by Eragon and Arya gave him ample privacy) and when he had placed the wetsuit and related paraphernalia in a nearby tree, they all sat down and talked about their findings.

_He wasn't in any of the trees_, reported Saphira. _Flower Petal and I could tell that much, but we're relatively sure that he must be here. _Arya asked why. _Because this is Montana, isn't it?_ replied Flower Petal._ I mean, if he lived in Montana, wouldn't he be here? _They all nodded to this. Then it was Eragon and Arya's turn to report.

"Eragon and I asked a number of Christopher Paolini's fellow Montanans. A lot of them had heard of him, or at least the book he has written but none of them could say they had seen him recently. This has led us to believe that perhaps he's not in right now or maybe he is doing a book signing." They all agreed to this also, but none of them wanted to wait around for him to come back from this theoretical vacation or book signing. By this time it was getting dark, so Eragon started a fire with magic and Durza pulled a slightly squished bag of marshmallows out of his pants' pocket. Arya collected sticks to roast them on and they all had a quite satisfying snack of left over McDonald's snack wraps and toasted marshmallows. They were all feeling rather sleepy and at peace when Flower Petal stated something very important that had never occurred to him before.

_What if this isn't Montana? What if we're wrong? _Then by the light of the dying fire they all saw the sign.

WELCOME TO CENTRAL PARK


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